About Abbie Zanders:
My name is Abbie Zanders and I'm the author of more than 35 published romance novels. My books range from contemporary to paranormal, sweet to sexy, and everything in between. It all depends on which muses are talking the loudest at any given moment. I promise my readers two things: happily ever afters, always, and no cliffhangers, ever.

Some background: I was born and raised in the mountains of Northeastern Pennsylvania, which has become the setting for the majority of my books. I have degrees in Computer Science and Mathematics, which paved the way for me to work as a software engineer for more than twenty-five years. During that time, I've also held second jobs as a deli clerk, pub waitress, restaurant baker, and secretary.

As for writing, well, I've been crafting stories since elementary school, though it's only fairly recently that I started sharing them with others. When I'm not escaping into another world of my own creation, I'm a busy wife and mother of three, including a set of identical twins. Besides being an avid reader and writer, I love animals (especially big dogs), classic American muscle cars, and 80's hair bands.

What inspires you to write?
LIFE! I find inspiration in everything: my childhood, song lyrics, the customers in line at the grocery store, my wild imagination – the list is endless. Just as all of my life experiences have shaped me to become the person I am, so they have shaped my ideas and stories, and they are ever changing and evolving.

Tell us about your writing process.
I am a total pantser. Often a story will begin with a single scene, or maybe some funny dialogue, and build from there. Once it's in my head, it's like background music playing on a loop. When the creative juices are flowing, I'll hear another "piece".

It's a long, sometimes frustrating process. As the characters take shape and new ideas form, the real story starts to come through. The truth is, when I start writing, I never know what's going to happen. It's that joy of discovery that delights me each and every day.

How do you develop your characters?
My characters constantly surprise me. They grow as the story does.

If I'm doing a series with recurring characters, I get to know them very well. I know what they'll say, how they'll react. Sometimes I'll put them in unexpected situation and I'll discover a facet of their personalities I wasn't aware of. I find new characters to be harder to write at first, because they're a totally blank canvas and anything can happen.

The most important thing, I think, is that every character must have specific strengths and more importantly, weakness. It's their flaws that make them truly relatable.